3 Hair Elastic Travel Hacks That Will Solve All Your Problems

If you’re a forgetful packer, travel hacks should be your best friend. The smartest ones make use of everyday items, like the plastic wrap in your kitchen cabinet or the hair elastic around your wrist.

Hair Elastic Travel Hacks

Here’s how to use the latter as a fix for impromptu outfit problems and forgotten items.

Make Your Skirt Bike-Friendly

Skirts are great for travel—they’re comfortable on the plane, versatile for building outfits, and pack small. But, they’re not exactly helpful if you find yourself wanting to take advantage of an unexpected bike-share station or moped rental halfway through the day. Don’t let your skirt ruin your spontaneity. Whatever the reason you’re regretting dressing romantically rather than in pants, you can turn your skirt into appropriate bottoms in a pinch.

For my personal favorite of these three travel hacks, grab a coin from your wallet and a hair elastic. Stand with your legs apart, and pull any extra pleating on the sides to the back. Lay the coin on top of the pleats in the back, then push the coin through your legs until you’re touching the center of your skirt’s front panel. Using the coin as a button, join the front and back panels of your skirt by tying the hair elastic tightly around the coin from the front.

The result should be two pant legs that will keep the breeze from blowing your skirt’s material around as you ride, and keep all that extra fabric up by your seat. Move the coin up higher or lower depending on how tight you want the legs to be, on a scale of harem pants to leggings.

Transform Your Bra Straps

The most comfortable bra in your dresser isn’t always the most versatile one, but it’s usually the only one you want to travel in. If you find yourself without a cross-back bra for your racerback shirt, adjust your own basic one with a hair elastic.

Loosen both straps and bring them together so they make an X-shape. Slip the elastic under the straps, and pull the ends through each other at the center until a tight tie is formed. It’s not as flat as those plastic bra-strap adjusters you can purchase, but it’s a quick fix when you need it.

Create a Makeshift Travel Wallet

Most people have a lot of cards in their day-to-day wallet that will only take up space when you’re traveling. To make your purse lighter and free up some space for necessities in a small day pack when you don’t have a card case, take only the cards you’ll need for the day and bind them up (along with paper bills if you have them) by using a hair elastic.

They’ll fit securely into a single interior pocket this way, rather than jostling around and getting lost in your change, headphones, and other accessories. This is probably the most controversial of these travel hacks because it’s not the most optimal way to store money and cards, but I rely on it often when I’m tight on purse space.

What are your favorite travel hacks? Comment below.

More from SmarterTravel:

• 9 Travel Hacks for Lazy People
• 3 Genius Packing Hacks for Plastic Wrap
• 7 Packing Hacks for Staying Organized While Traveling

Associate Editor Shannon McMahon writes about all things travel. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.